Alumni Spotlight: Dr. Beatriz Pacheco

In a Q&A with Dr. Beatriz Pacheco, we learn about her role as Director of Education for the Pueblo of Sandia in New Mexico and her experience in Spalding’s EdD program.

I was working at Saint Xavier High School in Louisville, Kentucky, and Dr. Perry Sangalli, an alumnus of the program himself, sent me a message asking me to consider getting a doctorate through the Spalding program. Dr. Sangalli remained a mentor and a friend throughout the program, and he was even on my dissertation committee. He was a strong advocate of the Spalding Ed.D. program, and he remains one of my most important influences.

I became Director of Education at the Pueblo of Sandia, located just outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 2021. My husband and I are both natives of New Mexico, and his military service is what took us to Kentucky, a place that we will always love and consider a second home. My purpose in getting an Ed.D. was to eventually come back to New Mexico and serve as an educational leader, using my knowledge and skills to help improve outcomes for the children of my home state. I was drawn to the Pueblo of Sandia because of their innovative methods for addressing the needs of the community through education. The education department at the Pueblo oversees scholarships for students in elementary, middle, and high school as well as post-secondary education. The system already in place was created to provide the best possible opportunities for the community. One thing that impacts all Indigenous communities throughout the U.S. is language loss, which is the result of long-term systemic oppression aimed at removing languages and cultures. When I first started my work at the Pueblo, I worked with the language and preservation administrator to write a grant for 2.5 million dollars. We received the grant and were able to establish what is now a flourishing language program within the community, and the program has just started its 3rd year. The goal of the program is to create fluent teachers who will then go into the Early Childhood Center to establish a language immersion program for the children of the Pueblo. The motto of the program is “the hills in front of you are nothing compared to the mountains you have already climbed.”

One of the first things I was able to assist with was the design of a new Early Childhood Development Center for the Pueblo of Sandia. New Mexico is very fortunate to have the leadership of Secretary of Early Childhood Education Elizabeth Groginsky and Assistant Secretary Cotillion Sneddy, both of whom champion early childhood education in the state. It has been my privilege to work with both of them. The new center will include a language lab, a sensory room, and a maker’s space, all on a beautiful campus with a view of the picturesque Sandia Mountains.

My degree from Spalding has opened doors for me that would have remained closed had I not made the difficult journey towards a doctorate. Spalding is a respected institution, and today, I meet with Governor Lujan Grisham of the State of New Mexico and members of her cabinet, and I can influence policy for children who need strong advocates. I am so privileged to work with the leadership at the Pueblo of Sandia, for whom I have the greatest respect and admiration. Most importantly, I am doing what I always wanted to do – I have come home and am making a difference for young children who are just like I was at one point in my life. Compassion and empathy are the most important traits one must have to influence real and positive change. Spalding University remains committed to those values, and I am proud to be a graduate of Spalding’s Ed.D. program.

I am so grateful to my dissertation committee chair Glen Beattie for his belief in my research. He was one of the toughest professors I had during my journey to a doctorate, and that is exactly why I wanted him to be my chair. I knew I would produce quality research under his guidance. I am also eternally grateful to Dr. Susan Jackson-Dowd. She was my Systems Theory professor, and I am now an adjunct in the program at Spalding teaching the same class. She had a profound impact on me, and she is one of the reasons I can do what I am doing today as Director of Education at the Pueblo of Sandia. She taught me how to critically analyze and identify leverage points in systems.

I am so grateful to be doing what I am doing. It truly is a dream come true. My biggest hope is to continue to be an influence for better educational outcomes for students in New Mexico. One thing that I have learned is that when children’s strengths are honored, their outcomes will be greater. The Superintendent of Albuquerque Public Schools, Dr. Gabriella Blakey recently told me that there is AI technology that can identify the strengths of a child and tailor a lesson to those strengths. I plan to meet with her soon to learn how to leverage this for the children of the Pueblo of Sandia and then to share this with all the various systems in which they are educated to maximize outcomes for them.

In 2018, I published a book entitled The Rise of the Human Digital Brain: How Multidirectional Thinking is Changing the Way We Learn. Technology has more of an impact on brain development today than ever before in our history. Just imagine what we could do if we leveraged this in a positive way. My hope is to be a leader in this field and to continue to find ways to help others. I also want to inspire those I work with in Spalding’s Ed.D. program to follow their passions and lead with the same type of empathy and compassion that was so firmly instilled in me during my time at Spalding.